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Chapter 20. Critiquing
Statistics Presented by Others

This chapter explains how to read and critique statistics presented by
someone else, including statistics contained in published research articles
and workplace presentations. It begins with a general outline of how to
critique a research article and then focuses more narrowly on ways to
critique the statistics chosen and their presentation, as well as common
ways authors and presenters try to cover up weaknesses in their data. In
some ways, this chapter has the broadest applicability of any in this book
because even if you never plan or carry out a statistical analysis yourself,
there’s a good chance you will consume statistics presented by others,
whether in your workplace, at school, or simply in your daily life as an
informed citizen.

Evaluating the Whole Article

Often, you are called upon to evaluate not just the statistics used in an article but
the entire article. This can be intimidating, particularly the first time
you face such a task, but following a systematic process can make it
easier. If you are reviewing an article for a specific journal, there may
be a checklist or other form provided to guide your evaluation process. If
not, check other publications in the field to see whether they have a
checklist or set of guidelines that might be useful to you. For instance,
Preventing Chronic Disease, a journal published by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has a peer
review checklist. This chapter presents a ...

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